I have just had a quick look at the Oceania website and the Marina certainly does look beautiful! The suites are gorgeous. I had actually tried to book an Oceania cruise for my very first cruise back in 2006. It was booked out, and thats how I ended up sailing with Seabourn.
Maybe a good TA could get a better price than that which is quoted on the Seabourn website......maybe worth finding out if that is possible.
The only thing I dont like so much about Marina is that you have to share with 1250 other people instead of 450....so thats three times the crowd. I know the ship is bigger than Seabourn so can spread out a bit more, but then a bigger ship wears me out trying to find my way around!
On the prices you have quoted...its $550 a day on Oceania and $900 per day on Seabourn....is drinking $350 worth, a possibility? ;)

Iamboatman

December 5th, 2010 09:05 PM

I took a look at the pricing and I believe you are looking at the pricing for one person for the Marina with air (double occupancy) and two people on the Seabourn Odyssey. (no air).

The price for the lowest available B3 Veranda stateroom on Oceania for two is about $8,300 vs. the $12,000 or so on the Seabourn Odyssey for a V3 Suite. That is $800 per day for two vs. $860 per day on Seabourn.

When you add gratuities of about $12.50 x 2 x 10 days ($250) and then your drinks, it looks like Marina is actually a more expensive cruise.

Now, that said, if you want 10 different restaurants rather than 4 and you don't care if there are 450 or 1,250 people things may not seem so skewed one way or the other.

What I looked at immediately is that the itineraries are sooooo different. So are your more concerned about the ship or the itinerary. All the money in the world for an itinerary you really don't want is a bad investment IMHO.

lord of the seas

December 7th, 2010 04:56 AM

I had seriously considered taking a Marina trip with friends.The ship looks great with a good selection of restaurants and the top suites are wonderful.
After reading CC boards and talking to a TA we decided that it was not for us.We are used to the best,Seabourn Silversea and Hapag Lloyd Europa.The number of guests put us off on a ship this size and Oceania regulars are just a different type of crowd to what we are used to.The style is very relaxed which is good for some.
As Iamboatman says,when you add up all of the extras that are included on the luxury lines,Drinks (with an 18% Gratuity on Oceania) restaurant charges and general ship gratuities,you end up paying more for Oceania which when all is said and done,is not a luxury line with staff that are trained to the standards of Seabourn.
Although I do think that it is an attractive option for some.

Katzenjammer

December 13th, 2010 12:06 PM

Oh my gosh...

You are right, I was looking at the "Brochure Fares" not the discount fares.

Golly, that is a huge difference. I am sufficiently embarassed.

The price fo4 the 14-day Med-cruise I was looking at is $5399, that is a lot less than $12,600.

Paul Motter

December 13th, 2010 12:13 PM

Katz...

I have written about how crazy it makes me that cruise lines actually put out so called "brochure fares" and then "discount prices in the brochures.

Listen cruise lines - if it is in the brochure then that IS the brochure price - do NOT send me a brochure with "discount" prices and say they are sale prices. It is nonsense.

Your cruises are selling for the discount price in the brochure - that is why it is a brochure.

You might as well just address it to "stupid"

"Dear Stupid...

Here is the brochure where we tell you we would like to charge double for every cruise, but in fact the market dictates we can only get half of that, therefore we are publishing fantasy-fares based on what we charge for these cruises in our dreams, but in fact the real brochure price is the one we call the "discount price." Please disregard that fact that it is not a discount as long as you are paying the price printed in our brochure as the actual price for this cruise."

Iamboatman

December 13th, 2010 12:17 PM

It is soooo important to not look at the alleged discount off either. The same folks that establish the brochure rate and early booking rates establish the sale price.

You should look at the actual price...nothing else. If you want to look at it broken down on a per day or per 7 day cruise basis to compare that makes some sense.

But to book a cruise that is 60% off that is more expensive than one that is 50% off because the discount is allegedly higher isn't usually a smart thing.

Paul Motter

December 13th, 2010 12:17 PM

I think the differentiating factor for Marina is the size of the suites.

Now, compared to Seabourn and luxury lines they are not unusually big, but compared to the older Oceania ships they are much bigger - and put the ship in the luxury category (for accomodations, anyway).

I can see the inevitable comparisons to Crystal coming - same size ships, staterooms, cuisine etc. Crystal is not all inclusive, has bigger ships, etc, but it is still considered luxury.